Chapter 696: Chapter 695 Mutual Destruction
Ribery cut inside with the ball, forcing Oleg to retreat step by step until Puyol came over and knocked Ribery down, thus ending the attack.
But before Ribery was knocked down, he had already stepped into the penalty area.
According to football rules, physical contact within the penalty area is scrutinized more strictly, especially when Ribery was in control of the ball.
This was a penalty kick!
Just like the one Ronaldo created.
But the main referee made no indication of it.
After getting up, Ribery quickly rushed towards the main referee.
The referee was forced to interrupt the game, and then showed Ribery a yellow card.
The Manchester City players were quite dissatisfied, but in the end, they could only disperse.
The forty-fourth minute.
On the right wing, Quaresma played the ball directly, attempting to breeze past Lahm.
He was finding it easier and easier to play against Lahm.
In their previous encounters, Quaresma had come out on top.
But this time...
Lahm burst into speed, overtaking Quaresma before he could reach the ball.
And... Lahm controlled the ball and turned to face Quaresma head-on.
At this position, it would logically be safer for a full-back who caught up with the ball to kick it out of play to ensure safety.
A stronger one might attempt to clear the ball with a half-turn, giving the opposition a throw-in at the midfield rather than close to the attacking third.
But Lahm’s way of handling it.
It was a bit too risky.
Bang!
Lahm nearly replicated Quaresma’s maneuver, kicking the ball forward.
Quaresma immediately turned to chase the ball.
At the same time, he stretched out his hand to block the approaching Lahm.
Quaresma’s turn would slow him down.
Lahm was further away.
Theoretically, the two were evenly matched.
But in the end... Lahm outpaced Quaresma, catching up with the ball ahead of time, played it forward again, and then completely shook off Quaresma.
If previously Quaresma had dominated Lahm without giving him a chance to fight back.
Now, Lahm burst past Quaresma with no resistance at all.
This is what you call mutual obliteration!
Countless fans in Camp Nou gasped in awe.
So fast!
Isn’t this German full-back supposed to be a weak link?
How could he be so fast?
Guardiola smiled slightly on the sidelines.
Is Quaresma fast?
Of course, he is fast.
His straight-line acceleration is first-class.
But his greatest strength is actually his turning speed and explosiveness, which are even faster than his straight-line speed, making him top-class.
Combined with his dribbling skills, rhythm, and core strength, he is a very powerful penetrator.
But essentially, he is a pivot player.
While Lahm... his straight-line acceleration is outright top-class.
Not much faster than Quaresma, but definitely faster.
He couldn’t defend against Quaresma’s dribbling past players before, but an explosive sprint?
Sorry.
Manchester City is full of Rafas and bulls!
Quaresma, your Mercedes AMG is still not quite up to the mark.
After outpacing Quaresma with speed in the midfield, Lahm repeated the trick and outran Xavi with a burst of speed.
He then pulled off a solo run down to the bottom line and delivered a cut-back pass.
It was a fast break by one man.
Deng Kai followed up without stopping the ball and directly crossed it with his left foot, catching the Barcelona defense off guard.
Adriano successfully headed the ball.
Another goal!
Beep!
However, the main referee crossed his hands, indicating the goal was disallowed.
The assistant referee had also raised the flag.
Deng Kai passed the ball, Adriano was offside!
"No! How could that be offside!" Maxa sprang up from his seat instantaneously, his angry demeanor as if he had some stake in the match.
If only he had a clue, counting on Guardiola to lose!
The stadium’s big screen was replaying the moment.
This offside by Adriano was a matter of millimeters.
It had a flavor of Xavi, the Fox in the Box.
Extremely hard to judge.
Theoretically, blowing the whistle or not both made sense and would stir controversy.
However, looking at the outcome, Manchester City seemed a bit more unlucky.
Perhaps this was Barcelona’s home advantage.
The commentator also suggested that Manchester City only had themselves to blame for not seizing opportunities at the Etihad.
Everyone has a home field advantage.
You can’t blame others if you don’t make good use of your own.
The first half was drawing to a close.
In the added time, the Wild Boar Davis took a long shot, but it won Barcelona a corner.
Once again, Maxa rushed to the sidelines to express his dissatisfaction at Guardiola’s reminder.
Because the additional time had already passed.
This corner kick, too, could have been given or not given.
But the main referee once again made a decision favorable to Barcelona.
Clearly, Maxa’s protest was in vain.
But protesting was just part of his job.
Returning to his seat, he began discussing with Feng Te again, "Do you think we should opt for fried milk or coconut milk squares?"
Feng Te spread his hands, "I heard Kai really likes watermelon, and there’s a famous dish in Shandong cuisine called ’Candied Watermelon’!"
The commentator, observing the animated discussion, interpreted, "Maxa is really angry. He must be telling Feng Te whether we should sue the main referee after the game or sue both the refereeing team and Barcelona?"
"And Feng Te’s response might be, why don’t we just sue the English FA and UEFA as well?"
Beep!
Their discussion hadn’t reached any conclusion when the whistle sounded again in the arena.
They looked towards Manchester City’s penalty area.
Only to see the main referee pointing at the penalty spot once more.
Barcelona had been awarded another penalty!
The big screen replayed everything that happened during the corner.
Puyol and Mascherano were shoving each other before the header.
Puyol went down with the momentum, Mascherano then cleared the ball.
The main referee deemed that had Mascherano not pushed Puyol down, it would have been a very threatening attack.
Defensive foul!
He also showed Mascherano a yellow card.
"Told you! You can’t rely on substitutes!"
"Mascherano is after all not Essien, his performance in this match is disastrous!"
"Of course, this penalty is very controversial."
"If Ribery’s earlier penalty could have been given or not, Adriano’s goal could have been called or not."
"Then this penalty belongs to those that likely should not have been given."
"The main referee’s decisions today have shown a clear bias."
"It’s difficult to not connect this with the betting markets."
"Logically, when Deng Kai previously faced off against Barcelona, there were controversies about fairness, and Barcelona was found to have certain issues then."
"The referee who blew the controversial whistles back then, Byron Moreno, went on to create a springtime for South Koreans at the 2002 World Cup."
"And the victims included not only Italians but also Spaniards themselves!"
"Many said that Barcelona shot themselves in the foot."
"So theoretically, UEFA wouldn’t favor Barcelona with the whistle."
"But... Manchester City currently has too high a predicted win rate in all competitions. They’ve caused many bookies to lose value, and it’s rumored that many European betting companies are quite displeased with Manchester City."
"Some people are following Manchester City’s unbeaten streak, making small profits as wins."
"Others are trying to hedge their bets, placing wagers that create significant pressure on the betting companies."
In fact, many seasoned fans are reluctant to admit a point of view, that is, most football matches, including the beloved top five leagues and even more important events.
There are signs of manipulation involved.
The methods of manipulation are sophisticated, not directly controlling who wins or loses.
But they control variables, and they subjectively increase the likelihood of a particular team winning, as well as a team’s chances of progressing to a certain stage.
From the current situation.
It seems many would prefer Barcelona to be in the finals of the Europa League!
